Archive for social media marketing

The question of “what plugins should I have on my site” comes up often. Since WordPress is so widely used, the world of plugins is amazing! What is a plugin? A plugin is an extra feature you can easily add to run in the backend of your website to do necessary and sometimes FUN actions!

These are my five top favorite free ones to use.

Social Media Widget.This is a plugin that you can setup so many of your social media icons and profiles under one roof. You can customize the appearance of Social Media icons even uploading your very own custom ones. This is very easy to setup and use.

Facebook Comments. This is a fabulous tool to use to create a social atmosphere to your blog comments. Install this free plugin and the bottom of your blog posts will look like people are responding on Facebook. This one is a bit complicated to setup, but their instructions are pretty good, just follow them step by step.

Quotes Collection.This is a great free plugin that allows you to add scrolling testimonials to your sidebar. It’s very easy to install and setup. You even have the ability to set if you want them static or scrolling in timed intervals.

Audio Player. This free plugin is very simple to install and setup. I use this one frequently when you want a simple audio player to play MP3’s files directly on a webpage. There are some customizations you can make for the stylization, but the overall look is very clean and simple.

Contact Form 7. This is a great free contact form tool. It is very easy to install and takes just a bit of time to setup your first contact form. If you are looking for an easy, simple, and straightforward contact form setup on your website, check this one out.

There are TONS of free WordPress plugins you can install; these are just some of my favorite ones that I seem to always refer to. I would LOVE to hear your favorites! Comment below!

Marketing your business online is so important, and yet so many businesses put this aspect on the back burner as they are doing business. Continuing to market and try new marketing techniques constantly will help keep your business profitable, during times that would normally be very slow. Always keep growing your contact list! Below are my top three marketing tricks you should be doing now.

1. Facebook Ads are so incredibly powerful. You can easily boost an awesome post on your page for only $5! By taking advantage of Facebook Ads you can reach a huge market. Give it a try!

2. Make sure you are enticing your audience by having a compelling and exciting free offer for your opt-ins. Encourage people to want to sign up to your list. What is it that your target audience really wants? Can you create a checklist, ebook, or video series that you can give away to them for free? Don’t wait on this!

3. Utilize free SEO submission sites to submit your articles! This will only take about 5 minutes per post and you are once again casting the net out larger to attract more people, for FREE. Some of my favorites are ezinearticles.com and goarticles.com.

Bonus tip!

Be yourself always! Whether in creating Facebook ads, posts, your free offer, or any of your emails, people want to know YOU. Think about some of the people that you follow and trust online. You probably really respect and enjoy their personality as well as their knowledge. Use YOUR own language and do what feels right to you.

If these tricks feel daunting to be doing by yourself, then don’t do it alone! Invest in yourself and partner with a fabulous, experienced Virtual Assistant! An experienced VA should have the knowledge to help you grow your email list and guide you to creating a marketing plan that works for you.

This question is asked by my clients often. They have a Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter accounts and they do not know what to post. This should not be stressful or feel like a chore. Get on your accounts and be yourself. Interact with your followers, fans, friends, etc.

These social networks should not ONLY be used as advertising or “billboards” for your company. Use them as you would going to a networking event. Meet others, ask questions, start a discussion.

The generally accepted rule of thumb for interacting socially versus advertising your business is 80/20. Only use about 20% of your postings and conversations about your business. The reason for this is to create a social network of people that are interested in you as a person, not a faceless business. Create that trust with your friends, followers, etc. but showing that you are interested in them, not only seeing them for dollar signs.

I challenge you this week to spur conversation on your Facebook Fan Page with your followers. Ask a question that is relevant to your followers.

If you feel stuck, contact me today to create a social media marketing plan for your business, which will include a list of conversation starters.

Having a Facebook Fan Page is critical for small businesses. Whether you sell physical products or consultant services, utilizing Facebook for your marketing efforts can pay off big time. But there are many Facebook Fan Pages out there that are not utilizing all their space or “real estate” on this page.

Below I am going to share with you the top 4 items you must include on your Facebook Fan Page to get the most results.

1. Use your cover photo area. This cover photo area is a large piece of “real estate” on your page. The dimensions are 851px x 315px. Use this area to either show a great head shot of you and/or your business tagline. You can also use a beautiful, inspiring photo that resonates with you. One that others would be drawn to. Play around with it and see what feels right for you. Make sure you do take note of Facebook’s rules for what can and cannot be in this area. Basically, you cannot tell people about prices or products in this area.

2. Use the smaller profile photo area to show you. People are still accustomed to see a profile pic and the best image to use here is still your headshot. Show yourself and people can relate better to you.

3. Under the images, in the shaded blue box, make sure you have the link to your website. You can see an example of this by clicking here. You can edit this area by going to “Manage”, “Edit Page”. Go to the “Basic Information” section and use the “About” field. You are limited to 58 characters, so make it count! Make sure the very first item in this section is the link to your website. That way people can easily click to your website.

4. Use the new App area strategically. Do you have a freebie on your website? Here is where you are allowed to post that information. Use a program like Lujure , which gives you the ability to create one free page, to hook up a custom area to advertise this freebie and get people to sign up to your list.

Take these steps and you will have an inspiring Facebook Fan Page that you can use to engage and create a community of people.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, contact me today for a FREE consultation on how I can help you create an online presence.

I see many small business owners creating a Facebook Fan Page and not know or understand what to do with it. Facebook, as all social media platforms, is to create a community of people engaging in social interactions. Facebook is not to be used as a billboard advertising your company but to engage with followers and create genuine relationships.

Below, I am going to share with you the top 3 mistakes you may be making with your business using Facebook so you can start using Facebook effectively for your business.

Mistake #1: Posting only about your business.

Using your Facebook Fan Page (or profile) to advertise your current blog, specials, or only news about your business will turn people away. Why is this? As I mentioned above, Facebook is meant to be about social interactions. If people feel that you are not sincere and only a “salesperson” they have no relationship with you and will tune out or even unsubscribe from you. Think about it, if you meet someone at a networking event and they only talk about themselves and you feel they are a “pushy” salesperson pushing their products and services on you, do you stay engaged? Do you want to do business with them? Probably not.

The best advice is the 80/20 rule. 80% of your material and postings should be information related only. For example, if you find an interesting video or article, share it and ask a probing question. Ask people to comment or what they think about the video? Remember, it is ALL about social interaction.

Mistake #2: Not answering or responding to posts or comments from other people.

If you are not responding to people’s comments or posts, you are ignoring potential clients and customers. If you are asking a probing question, or someone posts on your wall, answer them or thank them for their insight. This really is just common courtesy. If you are talking to someone in person and they make a comment or ask you a question, it would be rude not to respond, right? It is the same thing on Facebook.

When you respond to people, you are showing them that you are a “real, live person” and not just a faceless company. This is developing your relationship with your followers, who could be potential clients. Also, respond to them in a timely manner. Responding only once per week is a no-no, by then the person who commented has already “checked out”. Within 24 hours is optimal (especially Monday-Friday).

Mistake #3: Not being consistent with your posts.

Are you an occasional poster? Then you are not using Facebook to its full potential. Most people are not on Facebook looking at their newsfeed 24/7. Many will pop on and off throughout the day and night. If you only post once per week, how many people are actually seeing your post? Not many.

I highly recommend posting at least 2 times per day (make sure you revisit Mistake #1 above if you are only posting about your business). Then you are widening the amount of people who may see your posts, so they can respond.

Facebook is a wonderful platform to gain potential clients and customers, especially if you stay engaged with your followers and create a community. Try to think about how you would engage with people in person and use similar strategies. Be yourself. Be real and authentic.

If this seems overwhelming for you, then hire a consultant to help you wade through the Social Media waters. Contact me today for a free, no-obligation phone call to assess your needs and how I can help you stay engaged to your prospects and clients.